Ed’s inbox – January 25th

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

If Ed Miliband could only read five blogposts each day, he’d read these ones…

A backwards step – Hopi Sen
By Hopi Sen

The new GDP data is really, really bad.

It’s completely fair to say the snow impacted the economy, and the early data will be subject to revisions, but even when you allow for weather and error, this is a sharp retrogade step.

What it looks like is that manufacturing and exports are doing well, but retails, services, construction, extraction all doing badly.

It’s also fair that one bad quarter can easily be a blip. – Read more

Osborne’s optimism looking less and less plausible – Left Foot Forward
By Rachel Reeves MP

Today’s dire GDP numbers show that the government’s reckless gamble with the economy risks plummeting the UK back in to recession. The economy contracted by 0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2010, compared to growth of 1.1% in the second quarter and 0.7% in the third quarter. The Chancellor reacted by saying:

“There is no question of changing the plan… on the back of one very cold month…we will not be blown off course by bad weather.”

While Clegg said that it was still:

“… early days of the economic recovery.”

The government’s claims that the numbers are just because of snow is a complacent response that doesn’t do justice to the risk being taken with jobs and growth. – Read more

Let Cameron be Cameron (but does he want to be?) – Next Left
By Sunder Katwala

You may remember a The Thick of It episode where the hapless minister’s aides cut to the chase and conduct “very focused” one woman focus groups to capture the authentic voice of middle England. The enconiums this past week to fallen spin doctor and ex-redtop editor Andy Coulson often risked blending satire and political reality.

BBC political editor Nick Robinson has been among those to suggest his primary importance was as David Cameron’s main link to the real world. (“If the Tories really needed a wealthy newspaper editor with a modest background to tell them how the majority of people in Brtain live, they’ve got bigger problems than needing a new Director of Comms”, as Hopi Sen blogged in response). – Read more

Ed Cojones: is he really Zorro, or is he Don Diego Vega? – Labour Uncut
By Dan Hodges

Just when did Ed Balls become Ed Cojones? What was the time, date and place we first set eyes on the dashing, marauding, Cordobes-clad conquistador?

There are few clues in his childhood. He was born in Norfolk. Very flat, Norfolk. He attended a private, all boys school, where he reportedly enjoyed the violin. Bit girly, the violin.

At Oxford, he studied PPE, and then went on to Harvard. All very Ivy League. Finally, he came home and joined the Financial Times. Not much by way of tits, sport and Freddie Starr’s hamster at the FT. – Read more

Old and female and better off dead…? – Liberal Conspiracy
By Kate Belgrave

There are times when I wonder if being an old woman without money will be as funny as all that. It seems likely that I’ll find out first-hand in the near-ish future.

Right now, I get to watch.

I’m in a room in Gateshead with about 15 older women at a Personal Growth – Take Individual Steps session (known as PG Tips here at the Tyneside women’s health centre).

I wouldn’t describe the group, or the session, as a touchy-feely waste of public money and focus, although I imagine George Osborne would without looking round the door. Older and sick people aren’t above criticism or suspicion in these censorious times, and hell – what would I know? Perhaps George is some kind of life-science genius. Perhaps it’s unfair to give a group of unwell old girls like this a free pass for sharing a pot of tea together when they could be out on all fours in the snow cleaning something. It’s not like anybody else gets to enjoy life. – Read more

Our suggestions for Ed’s inbox are limited by what we read – so if you’ve seen a blogpost that should be in Ed’s inbox, let us know.